Skillet-Fried Chicken

Preparation

1. In shallow dish, mix flour, paprika, salt and pepper. Coat chicken with flour mixture.
2. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil (1/4 inch) over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil, skin sides down, about 10 minutes or until light brown on all sides; reduce heat to low. Turn chicken skin sides up.
3. Simmer uncovered about 20 minutes, without turning, until juice of chicken is clear when thickest part is cut to bone (170°F for breasts; 180°F for thighs and legs).

Tips

• Lighten it up: For 11 grams of fat and 250 calories per serving, remove skin from chicken before cooking. Use only 2 tablespoons oil in step 2.
• To make Buttermilk Fried Chicken: Increase flour to 1 cup. Dip chicken into 1 cup buttermilk before coating with flour mixture.
• Use medium-high heat to brown chicken. For the best browning, the skillet should be hot when you add the chicken. Let the chicken cook on one side without turning. When it is properly browned, it should release from the pan without sticking so the other side can be cooked.
• Cut into chicken pieces to make sure that juices run clear and are no longer pink.
• • Look for tightly wrapped packages without tears, holes or leaks and with little or no liquid. • Check for a fresh odor. If it doesn’t smell right, don’t buy it. • Choose cold packages and stay away from those stacked above the top of the meat case, which may not be cold enough. • Don’t buy any packages if the sell-by date has already passed. • Whole birds and cut-up pieces should be plump and meaty with smooth, moist-looking skin and no traces of feathers. • Boneless skinless products should look plump and moist. • Chicken skin color can vary from yellow to white and doesn’t indicate quality; turkey skin should be cream-colored. • Cut ends of the bones should be pink to red in color. • Place packages in plastic bags so juices don’t drop and contaminate other foods. • Place poultry in refrigerator as soon as you get home. If you’re shopping on a hot day or will be longer than 30 minutes, store it in an ice-packed cooler.
• • Poultry packaged in clear, sealed plastic wrap on a plastic tray doesn’t need to be repackaged. • Poultry wrapped in butcher paper should be repackaged in plastic wrap, foil or resealable plastic freezer bags. • Store in the meat compartment or coldest part of refrigerator, or freeze as soon as possible. • Cook or freeze poultry within 2 days of the sell-by date. • If the poultry is uncooked poultry, whole or in parts, you can store it in a refrigerator (36° to 40°F) for 1-2 days or in the freezer (0°F or colder) for 12 months (whole chicken); 9 months (chicken pieces). • If the poultry is uncooked ground poultry, you can store it in a refrigerator (36° to 40°F) for 1-2 days or in the freezer (0°F or colder) for 3-4 months. • If the poultry is cooked poultry, you can store it in a refrigerator (36° to 40°F) for 2 days or in the freezer (0°F or colder) for 4 months.

Nutrition Information